Mahendrapala I

This article is about the Emperor Mahendrapala I of the Gurjara-Pratihara Dynasty. For the Pala Dynasty emperor, see Mahendrapala.

Mahendrapala I (885–910) was a ruler of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty, the son of Mihir Bhoja I and queen Candra-Bhatta-Rika-Devi. He was also mentioned on various inscriptions in Kathiawar, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh by names Mahindrapala, Mahendrayudha, Mahisapaladeva, and also Nirbhayaraja and Nirbhayanarendra in the plays of Rajasekhara.[1][2]

Reign

From the inscriptions discovered at Ramgaya, opposite the Gadadhar temple at Gaya, at Guneria in the southern part of the Gaya district, at Itkhori in the Hazaribagh district of Bihar and at Paharpur in the northern part of the Rajshahi district of Bengal, it came to known that the greater part of Magadha up to even northern Bengal had come under the suzerainty of the monarch Mahendrapala I.

In north his authority was extended up to the foot of the Himalayas. Gwalior was also under his control as the Siyadoni inscription mentions him the ruling sovereign in 903 and 907 A.D.. Thus, he retained the empire transmitted to him by his father Mihir Bhoja and also added some part of Bengal by defeating Palas.[3]

In Dinajpur an inscription pillar of Mahendrapala has been found. A prosperous village on the bank of river Srimati is called Pratirajpur.[4]

Preceded by
Mihira Bhoja I (835–890)		 Gurjara Pratihara Emperor
890–910 		Succeeded by
Bhoj II (910–913)

References

  1. ↑ Rama Shankar Tripathi (1989). History of Kanauj: To the Moslem Conquest. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 248. ISBN 812080404X, ISBN 978-81-208-0404-3.
  2. ↑ Radhey Shyam Chaurasia (2002). History of Ancient India: Earliest Times to 1000 A. D. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. p. 208. ISBN 81-269-0027-X,ISBN 978-81-269-0027-5.
  3. ↑ Rama Shankar Tripathi (1989). History of Kanauj: To the Moslem Conquest. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. pp. 248–254. ISBN 812080404X, ISBN 978-81-208-0404-3.
  4. ↑ The Archaeological report of dinajpur.